جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « ICT » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

Given the increasing elderly population and the decreasing role of families in elderly care, the use of up-to-date technologies by older adults will become increasingly important in helping them live healthier and better lives. This study aimed to determine the acceptance of information and communication technology (ICT) by older adults and related factors in Yazd city, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022 with the participation of 360 older adults aged over 60 years from comprehensive health care centers in Yazd city, Iran. Participants were selected using a multi-stage random sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire and an Information and Communication Technology Acceptance Questionnaire completed by interview. Data were analyzed using descriptive indices, independent two-sample t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and regression by SPSS.

The ICT acceptance rate among older adults was 22.5%. The highest mean score was related to the dimension of perceived usefulness (15.37). The most significant barriers to ICT acceptance were lack of interest (48.6%), lack of sufficient skills (46.4%), and lack of perceived need (45.3%). The regression results showed that age, level of education, smartphone use, and time spent on technology tools were predictors of ICT acceptance by older adults, accounting for 82% of the variance in ICT acceptance.

Given the low level of technology acceptance among older adults in Yazd city and the need to learn and use ICT to meet their individual, social, health, and medical needs, as well as to live a more independent life and save time and costs, providing older adults with the opportunity to become familiar with technology is essential.

Some people expect that the quality of teaching and learning will be improved by using technology, while empirical evidence has proven the opposite. But education is too complicated to improve its quality simply by employing new technologies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers to the use of ICT in primary school in North Khorasan province in early 2021 academic years.

To do so, we used a mixed method. In the qualitative part of the study, interview questions were identified using scientific resources and focal group. Then, 14 primary teachers and experts, who had experience of working in a school with minimal ICT equipment were selected using purposeful sampling. The exclusion criterion was the subjects’ unwillingness to continue cooperation. The qualitative data were analyzed using Colaizzi method. Based on qualitative findings, a researcher-made questionnaire with 22 items and 6 subscales was developed. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and its reliability was obtained from 0.61 to 0.92 for its various parts. To ensure the accuracy of the questionnaire, we performed exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis on the questionnaire. In the quantitative part of the study, the sample was randomly selected according to the size and access to technology in the classroom.

Quantitative analyses revealed that there was a negative association (r=-0.182; P=0.021) between the teaching-learning quality and the use of emerging technology. Regression test showed that the most important barrier to the ICT use in school was “Equipment and infrastructure” (β=-0.256; P<0.001) and then the “Budget and monetary resources” (β=-0.148; P=0.053), “Teachers’ self-confidence” (β=-0.119; P=0.137), and “Teachers’ knowledge and skill” (β=-0.058; P=0.473).

The quality of teaching and learning is not improved by the mere presence of ICT equipment. Based on the findings of the current study, if the managers intend to remove the obstacles related to the integration of ICT in education, they have to provide sufficient “Equipment and infrastructure” and “Budget and monetary resources”, and plan for improving “Teachers’ selfconfidence” and “Teachers’ knowledge and skill”.

Healthcare is a vital and unavoidable sectorto which the government must pay attention to, especially in delivering quality service to care seekers. Adoption of technology can help improve public healthcare performance. This study examined the possibilities of improving public healthcare with the help of E-government by considering the correlation and relationship among telehealth application, health information management software, electronic-based training, and healthcare performance.

The study adopts a cross-sectional research design to achieve the aim of the study. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from one hundred and five (105) nurses in a public hospital in the study area. Data were collected and analyzed using SPSS 23. Regression and Pearson Product Moment Correlation were used to test the hypotheses. 

The findings revealed that telehealth application had a relationship with healthcare performance. It also showed that health information system software had a significant relationship with public healthcare performance. Finally, it revealed a positive relationship between electronic-based training and public healthcare performance. 

The study concludes that e-government is a veritable tool that can improve public healthcare performance. Therefore, it is recommended that the government should invest in technology to improve health sector performance in the country. Both health workers and the general public should be orientated on the need to embrace technology in the country’s health sector to improve their performance.